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LeBron James is not accustomed to Game 1s like these.
James’s teams lost the series opener in eight of his previous nine trips to the N.B.A. finals, but Wednesday night’s start to the 2020 finals against the Miami Heat went as well as James and the Los Angeles Lakers could have hoped. The Lakers cruised to a 116-98 victory after stretching their lead to as many as 32 points in the third quarter.
Anthony Davis rumbled for a dominant 34 points, and James added an efficient 25 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists for a near triple-double.